Big Mamma's Italian American Cooking

This is a collection of recipes from Teresa Lapetina Greco (Big Mamma), her daughter Elizabeth Greco Noviello (Mamaw), her grand daughter Marie Noviello Casazza and her great grand daughter-in-law.....Lee Casazza. My cookbook is now available in a hard cover and in Kindle on Amazon. If you live in the USA, you can order it now from my website. I will personally inscribe and sign the book for you, just leave instructions. www.leecasazzacooking.com. . . Buon appetito!

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Linguine with shrimp in a spicy tomato sauce is one of my husband's favorite dishes.Lee's Kitchen Tips:You may wonder what the difference is between Fra Diavolo, Arrabbiata, and Amatriciana sauces are.Fra Diavolo(translates to Brother Devil) is an Italian-American invention made with tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, and hot red pepper flakes. It is usually served with lobster or shrimp.Arrabbiata(translates to Angry) is an Italian invention made with tomatoes, sometimes onion, garlic, basil, and hot red pepper flakes. It is usually served without any meat or seafood and over penne or other short pasta.All'Amatriciana (translates to Amatrice way) is an Italian sauce typically made with guanciale (pork jowl or cheeks), tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, parsley, hot red pepper flakes, and Pecorino Romano cheese. In Italy they do not add shrimp to this dish.

12 extra large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails left on

2 T extra-light olive oil½ medium yellow onion, diced3 cloves garlic, finely sliced½ cup dry white wine½ to 1 t red pepper flakes (optional, of course)1 can (28-oz) whole peeled Italian tomatoes, preferably San MarzanoSalt and freshly ground black pepper2 T chopped fresh basilExtra-virgin olive oil, for drizzlingIn a large skillet, add the oil and heat over medium-high heat.When the oil is hot, add the shrimp and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes on each side.Remove shrimp to a bowl and set aside.Add the onion to the skillet and sauté for 5 minutes.Add the garlic and sauté another minute.Add the wine and red pepper flakes and stir to combine.Pour tomatoes into a large bowl and hand-crush them, removing any hard center cores.Alternatively, use an immersion blender to chop the tomatoes.Add the tomatoes to the skillet and season with salt and pepper.Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a couple of teaspoons of sea salt and boil the linguine for 7 to 8 minutes, until al dente.Ladle out some of the salted pasta water and reserve.Drain pasta and set aside.Add a about ¼ cup of the pasta water to the tomato sauce and simmer another minute or two. Stir in the basil and shrimp and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes, just to heat the shrimp through.Remove the shrimp to a bowl, cover, and set aside.Add the linguine to the sauce and heat through.Spoon into two warm pasta bowls, equally divide the shrimp between each bowl of pasta and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil.Serves 2

You probably haven’t heard about this passenger ship wreck. It happened off of Sable Island, Nova Scotia, on July 4th 1898, in dense fog at dawn’s early light. It occurred 14 years before the infamous Titanic disaster. No Hollywood movies were ever made about this disaster and 584 souls were drowned. Three were from the Casazza family: Luigi (Louis), his young daughter, Rose and his brother James (Giacomo). Only one woman survived (Mrs. Adrian LaCasse), and she was saved by her husband. This newspaper article was about my husband's great-grandmother Catherine (Catarina), the wife of Louis. She was Thirty-two years of age at the time of the accident, a wife and mother of five children. When she lost her husband and daughter on that fateful morning, she was left to raise her other children, ranging in age from one to fourteen. It is likely that other Italian-American descendants today may have had ancestors on that doomed ship. It was a horrific tragedy.

Monday, February 26, 2018

When in Italy, one of my favorite dinners is to have a rotisserie chicken on a bed of arugula dressed with a simple lemon vinaigrette. This is so delicious as a complete dinner. I first made a mustard-lemon marinade for the chicken and then a lemon vinaigrette for the arugula. This is one of my favorite go-to recipes. Delizioso!

Marinade3 cloves garlic, pushed through a garlic press

2 t thyme leaves, minced

2 t oregano leaves, minced

2 t rosemary leaves, minced

½ t onion powder

½ t paprika

Zest and juice of 1 small lemon

3 T Dijon mustard

2 T extra-light olive oil or avocado oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 (3 ½ to 4 lb) whole roasting chicken

In a small bowl, mix together all of the Marinade ingredients.Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place chicken in a large cast-iron skillet or baking dish and tie legs together with kitchen twine.Spoon and pat the mixture all over
the chicken, including some into the cavity.

Place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Remove chicken from refrigerator and let sit on counter while you preheat oven to 400 degrees F.When oven temperature reaches 400 degrees, place chicken in oven and roast for 45 minutes. Reduce temperature to 375 and roast another 15 to 20 minutes, or until juices run clear when you cut between the leg and breast.Breast meat should register 160-165 degrees F when you test with an instant-read thermometer. Temperature will rise a few more degrees and you don't want to dry out your chicken.Remove to a cutting board, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest 15 minutes.Carve and serve and place on a bed of arugula with pan juices, on the side, if desiredServes 4Arugula Salad1 container of baby arugula, rinsed in cold water and spun dry3 T white wine vinegar

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

This is one of our favorite meals. It’s a perfect weeknight dinner and also great for serving to guests. Have all of your ingredients cut up and set aside on a pizza pan or platter, ready to add to the skillet. If you can't find chicken tenders, cut up boneless, skinless chicken breast halves into smaller pieces. The addition of olives and lots of fresh herbs captures the taste of sunny Italy!

Sunday, February 11, 2018

This recipe is a version of my Spaghetti alla Puttanesca but made with cherry tomatoes instead of crushed canned tomatoes. It comes together in less than 30 minutes, making it ideal for a weeknight dinner. In the Italian language a puttana is a "lady of the night." This pasta dish is quick and easy to make, and perhaps that's how it got its name. . .because the ladies of the night could make it quickly between customers.Lee's Kitchen Tips:

I chop up the onion, garlic, anchovies, basil, black olives, and cherry tomatoes and place in piles on a pizza pan or individual small bowls. Then you just add to the skillet, when needed.

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About Me

I self-published my first cookbook and I am very proud to say it was printed in the United States! Every recipe has a photo and they were not photo shopped and a stylist was not used. The food was real and I took the photos before the food was served.

When I tasted the "Sunday Gravy" prepared by my husband's mother, grandmother, and even his great grandmother, "Big Mamma"—I was hooked. Teresa Lapetina and Vincenzio Greco sailed to America from Naples in 1898.They were from the small town of Picerno in the province of Potenza in the southern region of Basilicata. They have all departed us now. . .ora sono la mamma!